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Lets take this gig global!!
Kia Ora guys,
first up you'll be pleased to know that I am still on top of things and have put more photos on for you all to peruse! You can find them under 'Ozzie pics 4'. .....just bear in mind that most were taken in the space of two days so if my clothes look a little similar then thats why!! Honest!
Right, enough of Oz, as those of you in the know will..um....know..I am now in NZ! Have been in Christchurch since Monday arvo so what have I done with my time??
well, the first couple of days were mainly taken up by admin stuff!! I managed to change my flights (yet again!) so that I now have 6 weeks here, instead of just a month but there is alot to do in 6 weeks so I need to plan my time here wisely. Its been doing my head in a little bit as there is so much info available for every little place and activity so trying to cypher through it finding the best value deals is becoming a pain in the backside to be fair! Especially my snowbaording, which range do I hit? and when? for how long? who do I rent from? where do I stay? Aaaahhh....enough!!!!!
Anyways, after some number crunching and sorting I have pretty much got my time (roughly) planned out. I am gonna travel around by public bus basically and try and get lifts as often as I can. That is the cheapest and most flexible way for me to do it.
So once that was sorted I could actually start to explore Christchurch a little more. Its a nice little compact city so you can walk everywhere, which I have done. I have done the arty farty stuff and checked out the Art Gallery (great photography section dedicated to the World Cup!) and then the museum which was really impressive! I have strolled around the botanical gardens, along the Avon river and had lunch watching the punters slowly cruise past.
Yesterday I got out of the city and went to the main port town of Lyttelton. Now, I expected a cute little 'Falmouth like' fishing community but unfortunately was let down when I got there as its actually a rather large industrious port so pretty ugly at ground level! So I didnt hang around for long. Instead I ventured up to the Gondola. This takes you 500+m up to a spectacular observation point with stunning 360 views down to Lyttelton and its port and right across a couple of craters down to Christchurches urban sprawl and the city itself and then across the Canterbury plains and out to the awesome snowy southern alps! It was my second taste (after the views in from flight) of NZ landscapes and blimey is it impressive!! I had a fair bit of time so decided to do some of the short walks around the crater rims but as the weather was so nice and me being the outgoing type, these '30 min walks' turned into a 3 hr hike/jog!! I was well kitted out though with water and food so once I got to one great lookout I would see the next one and stomp to that as quick as I could!! Was thirsty work but great fun in the fresh cold air and fantastic views at every angle you looked! Had probably the most scenic lunch of my life then time was pressing so I jogged it back. My legs were pretty sore the next morning though!!
In the evenings I have been to the cinema to see the new 'Pirates...' film which I really enjoyed and also got to meet up with Chris, an old mate from school so that was really good fun reminicing over old times and sharing stories of australia. Last night I met back up with Sophie and the girls I met in Byron Bay which was cool and am going out for a drink with them all tonight so looking forward to that.
Other than that, I have been for a few jogs (I am training for all these activites coming up!!) and walked around this very Victorian town.
I am off to Dunedin tomo and looking forward to moving on now (everyday that passes is one day closer to me hitting those mountains- haha!!). So will update you again soon.
Enjoy the photos peeps.
and enjoy the British summer, its pretty cold here!
Dan
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